Looking back in gratitude: Happy New Year

We are happy and grateful for our time off in 2019. Time beautifully spent and shared with others, but also time to focus on ourselves and develop ideas for Devocean Pictures. We shall put it all into action in 2020 and beyond – with love, devotion and gratitude: Happy New Year!

Looking forward

It’s about time to feel the ocean again. We are eager to go diving, to film and photograph much more. That’s why we are getting ready for a new journey at the beginning of 2020. Besides, we are looking forward to working on new projects and ideas. Our first base to explore, connect and protect will be Bali. On the one hand, we have taken the island of the gods into our hearts, on the other hand, we haven’t explored the surrounding underwater world yet.

Looking back

While packing and taking care of all logistics, we are looking back at 2019 in gratitude. What a year! Whereas others take time off to travel in order to get a different perspective on their lives, hopes and dreams, we put our aquatic life in the tropics on hold to take a break in Europe: Same same, but different.

The idea was to stay over the summer to recharge our batteries, to spend lots of time with families and friends, to get some of the stuff done we never had the time for over the last years, to look back and reflect on ourselves as well as to look forward and create the future we want with Devocean Pictures. In many ways it went so much better than we could have hoped for, and – as usual – we learnt especially from all aspects that didn’t work out (as planned).

More than can be listed

So much has happened. So many beautiful places and inspiring people we were fortunate enough to visit, even though we had to give lots of others a miss. So much positivity, love and happiness have been created and shared. Thank you all for a wonderful time! Some of the experiences and encounters from our Tour de Europe found their way onto this website already:

• Celebrating a birth and many birthdays
• Exploring Heligoland
• Sharing our love for Drenthe with friends
• Visiting Berlin in summer and winter, among other cities like Maastricht or Münster
• Hiking, not only in Poland
• Our first Christmas together with our families and my first New Year in the Netherlands and Zuidlaardermaarkt

Not part of our Europe experience, but marking the restart of Devocean Pictures: Diving Lembeh and visiting the Minahasa Highlands which has been followed by much more with regards to photography and our life beyond. However, certain evolutionary developments and events we enjoyed privately for now, like our wedding ceremony, the following party in the woods and honeymooning through the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland.

Thank you

In the end, it is not about one event or another. Overall, we truly enjoyed taking part in the lives of our families and friends – and, in some cases, getting to know their families and friends. Thank you for all the beautiful activities from scenic walks, city and bike tours via climbing through treetops, ice skating and camping to wine tastings, board games, and many lovely meals and conversations.

Of course, spending nine months in Europe also brought up other aspects of life. Although it was beautiful to experience the seasons for a change (beautiful spring days, long summer nights, colourful autumn, and even some sunny winter days), we are missing the light, warmth, the ocean, and connection to nature as we get from diving. Ultimately, we stayed longer than expected as our family did grow and we wanted to welcome Matteo personally into this world (German blog: Willkommen in meinem Leben). But now it is time to leave.

Goodbye

Saying goodbye is never easy, even more so after all the beautiful and bonding moments of late. These last days before departure are actually the worst. All the last meetings and goodbyes are adding up to an emotional overload combined with the desperate try to fit everything and everyone in. Whenever the time of departure approaches I feel torn. I am looking very much forward to venturing out to new shores. Nevertheless, it hurts to leave loved ones behind.

From time to time I do wonder why I feel the need to leave home. But come to think of it: Where would home be anyway these days? Even our families live pretty spread out around the world and our circle of friends turns more international every year. In the end, the act of leaving and living abroad allows for warm welcomes and ensures that we can all appreciate the time spent together even more. Therefore, see you in 2020! We are always happy to visit.

In gratitude: Happy New Year with love and devotion!